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Swiss army recovers crashed Tiger jet debris

Salvage workers with a part of the crashed aircraft
Switzerland's remaining F-5 Tigers have been cleared to resume flying after the accident. Keystone / Urs Flueeler

The debris from a crashed Swiss army fighter jet was partially removed from a mountain by helicopters on Saturday – three days after the accident.

The wreckage of the Tiger F-5 jet was cut into three parts before being lifted off the mountain to be loaded onto trucks. The salvage operation was cut short by fog and will continue on Monday.

The jet crashed during a training flight in the Alps in Melchsee-Frutt, central Switzerland, but there were no injuries as the pilot managed to eject to safety.

Salvage work started early on Saturday morning to reduce the risk of avalanches. The cause of the crash is not yet known and is the subject of a military investigation.

The plane was a Northrop F-5 Tiger model – one of two types of fighters currently operated by the Swiss air force, along with the Boeing F/A-18.

The Swiss army has 26 F-5 Tigers, purchased in 1978, and used now only for training purposes, in daylight and in clear weather conditions.

On Friday, the Swiss army said its remaining F-5s, which had been grounded following the accident, are now cleared to fly again.

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